# Vatican Responds to the Da Vinci Code **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 14, 2007, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vatican-responds-to-the-da-vinci-code/422699 "2007-10-14T18:29:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2007, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vatican-responds-to-the-da-vinci-code/422699/1 "2007-10-14T18:29:31Z")
[Or Jacques de Molay, thou art avenged!](http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article2648422.ece) > [@](#): > > The Knights Templar, the medieval Christian military order accused of heresy and sexual misconduct, will soon be partly rehabilitated when the Vatican publishes trial documents it has closely guarded for 700 years. > > It is publishing only 799 copies of the minutes of trials against the Templars, Processus Contra Templarios - Papal Inquiry into the Trial of the Templars, which will sell for €5,900 (£4,115). I _like_ the idea of them releasing the minutes, but I think that they are _sorely_ screwing up by not making a version available that 99% of the public can afford. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2007, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vatican-responds-to-the-da-vinci-code/422699/2 "2007-10-14T20:14:35Z")
Why would 99% of the population be interested in the records of an internal investigation of a trial of a medieval monastic order? It’s going to be something of interest to historians, but probably not many other people. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2007, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vatican-responds-to-the-da-vinci-code/422699/3 "2007-10-14T20:23:11Z")
[QUOTE=Captain Amazing] Why would 99% of the population be interested in the records of an internal investigation of a trial of a medieval monastic order? It’s going to be something of interest to historians, but probably not many other people. [/QUOTE] Given that _The Da Vinci Code_ and it’s ilk have all been huge best sellers, with many people convinced that it’s “all true!” I’d think that there’d be a market out there for a significant number of people to buy it. Whether any of them would actually _read_ it, is another matter. And quite frankly, why should historians and academics have to shell out $8K for the book? Kind of puts an unnecessary strain on their research dollars, don’t you think? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2007, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vatican-responds-to-the-da-vinci-code/422699/4 "2007-10-14T21:30:38Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] Whether any of them would actually _read_ it, is another matter. [/QUOTE] I bet they’d read it if it started; “Renowned Pope Clement V staggered through the vaulted archway of the Vatican gallery.” ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2007, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vatican-responds-to-the-da-vinci-code/422699/5 "2007-10-14T21:35:58Z")
An affordable edition of this would lead me to a dilemma. It sounds as though it would be an interesting read, and would maybe resolve some questions, but if the Vatican publishes it they would be receiving profit from it and that would be the deal breaker for me. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2007, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vatican-responds-to-the-da-vinci-code/422699/6 "2007-10-14T21:51:51Z")
[QUOTE=longhair75] An affordable edition of this would lead me to a dilemma. It sounds as though it would be an interesting read, and would maybe resolve some questions, but if the Vatican publishes it they would be receiving profit from it and that would be the deal breaker for me. [/QUOTE] You could always read a library copy or buy it used. ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2007, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vatican-responds-to-the-da-vinci-code/422699/7 "2007-10-14T22:36:50Z")
Those would be my only options ---
**Author:** ![Malodorous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47774/32.png) [@Malodorous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malodorous)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2007, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vatican-responds-to-the-da-vinci-code/422699/8 "2007-10-14T22:57:20Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] I’d think that there’d be a market out there for a significant number of people to buy it. Whether any of them would actually _read_ it, is another matter. [/QUOTE] It’s in Latin. I doubt its going to be a bestseller. And in anycase, I’m pretty sure its well out of copyright (and I doubt court records are copyrightable in the first place), so there’s nothing to stop a scholar from buying the Vatican version, translating it and then publishing a gajillion copies in a non-dead language. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2007, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vatican-responds-to-the-da-vinci-code/422699/9 "2007-10-14T23:40:56Z")
[QUOTE=Malodorous] It’s in Latin. [/QUOTE] Cool. Iway eadray Atinlay. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vatican-responds-to-the-da-vinci-code/422699/10 "2007-10-15T00:49:59Z")
[QUOTE=Malodorous] It’s in Latin. I doubt its going to be a bestseller. And in anycase, I’m pretty sure its well out of copyright (and I doubt court records are copyrightable in the first place), so there’s nothing to stop a scholar from buying the Vatican version, translating it and then publishing a gajillion copies in a non-dead language. [/QUOTE] True, but if they were published at a “normal” price (or slightly higher at a small university press, for example, since it’s unlikely Random House would want to pick the Latin version up), then you could purchase several copies of the work, assign Latin scholars certain sections to translate, and have the work out in English (or Italian, French, etc., etc., etc.) much faster than just having one scholar working on the translation. ---
**Author:** ![Malodorous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47774/32.png) [@Malodorous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malodorous)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vatican-responds-to-the-da-vinci-code/422699/11 "2007-10-15T01:15:46Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] True, but if they were published at a “normal” price (or slightly higher at a small university press, for example, since it’s unlikely Random House would want to pick the Latin version up), then you could purchase several copies of the work, assign Latin scholars certain sections to translate, and have the work out in English (or Italian, French, etc., etc., etc.) much faster than just having one scholar working on the translation. [/QUOTE] Or you could just buy one copy at the current price and get a grad-student to make some photocopies to distribute to your scholar buddies. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vatican-responds-to-the-da-vinci-code/422699/12 "2007-10-15T01:52:10Z")
[QUOTE=Malodorous] Or you could just buy one copy at the current price and get a grad-student to make some photocopies to distribute to your scholar buddies. [/QUOTE] Do they trust grad students with that kind of things these days? 😉